Six Atlantic Canadians dead in month
Another fatal ATV crash claims sixth life in region just since late July
A 61-year-old ATV driver died in New Brunswick this week becoming at least sixth person to die in an all terrain vehicle crash in Atlantic Canada in about a month.
Police say the man was speeding and driving on the road illegally when he blew past a stop sign and collided with an on-coming tractor trailer truck in Nicolas Denys, N.B. Monday night.
“It’s a thing that unfortunately happens in northern New Brunswick far too often, because ATV drivers, they don’t stay on the trails all the time,” RCMP Sgt. Benoit Jolette said from Bathurst, N.B. “We regularly get complaints of ATVs on the road - weekly.”
It was the third ATV-related death in a week in the Atlantic region, and at least the sixth since July 29.
On Sunday afternoon, a 55-year-old man died in an ATV collision in Boswarlos, on Newfoundland’s west coast. Last Tuesday morning, a 67-year-old man died in an ATV crash near Florenceville-Bristol, N.B. The RCMP said an autopsy found the crash was “likely the result of a medical emergency,” and a passenger on the ATV was not injured.
On Aug. 14, a five-year-old boy died after the youth-model ATV he was on rolled in woods near Scotch Hill and he was pinned underneath.
On Aug. 1, a 30-year-old man
died, and a 38-year-old woman injured, when two ATVs collided near Yarmouth, N.S. The RCMP said that “initial investigation determined that neither rider were wearing helmets and the headlights on the ATVs were not being used at the time of the collision.”
On July 29, a 49-year-old Charlottetown man died in an ATV collision in Wheatley River, P.E.I. “It is believed that speed and alcohol were contributing factors in the collision and the victim was not wearing a helmet,” police said. There were also reports Aug. 15 of a boy’s ATV-related death
in Bishop’s Falls, N.L. RCMP Cpl. Mike Hall told VOCM Radio at the time there was a fatality, but it hadn’t been properly reported to police, and officers were attempting to find out more. A spokesperson for Grand Falls-Windsor RCMP was not available for further comment Tuesday.
There were other East Coast ATV deaths earlier in the summer as well.
A female youth died in an ATV collision in Bonavista on July 15.
There were two more on a single Saturday night in May: A 50-year-old man died in Tatamagouche,
N.S., after losing control of his ATV in a ditch on May 13, and a 56-year-old Robichaud Settlement, N.B., man died after he left the ATV trail and struck a tree.
Jolette said Tuesday he has personally responded to five ATV-related deaths in his 15year career.
“It’s like any motor vehicle - when a motorist gets on any vehicle of any type you always have to be careful of speed, alcohol, and respecting the roadway,” Jolette said Tuesday. “I couldn’t give you an exact answer as to why, but it’s an unfortunate thing that happens.”